The Book of Thoth
by ShadowSwan
Summary: The students of Anubis House have left school for university, but apparently the secrets of their old residence are not ready to leave them yet. With the group scattered, forgotten relationships must be remembered and reforged in order to unite against one of Anubis' most complicated mysteries yet, all while dealing with the drama that moving out and growing up provides.
1. House of Surprise

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, places etc. related to House of Anubis. **

**A/N: Hello! I'll leave a good long author's note at the bottom. Just know that this is my first HOA fic, and I hope you enjoy it. It may seem a little slow, but please give it a chance, drama will ensue.**

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1. House of Surprise

Fabian Rutter sat quietly on his new bed, pretending to read a book but actually pondering life. His parents had left him a few hours ago to settle in at his new flat at university, and he wasn't entirely sure how he felt about that. In some ways, it felt good. He felt more independent than ever, and was excited to begin this new chapter of his life. University would hold challenges, sure, but he knew it would be fun too. No more rules, no more curfews, no more pin dropping... it was him, and him alone.

And that was the scary thing. The life he'd known for the past however many years, the life he'd known at Anubis House was behind him now. It hadn't been safe, and it most certainly hadn't been simple, but it had been secure, and now he was having to find his feet again in someplace new. Fabian had spent all summer preparing for university; he knew he was pretty much guaranteed a place, results day hadn't let him down, and he'd spent a good few months buying things for life truly on his own.

Right now he was feeling very on his own though. The first one to arrive at his new flat, the other five rooms were currently unoccupied. He wanted someone else to move in, just so he could talk to someone and reassure himself that the unsettling feeling in his stomach was entirely normal. His parents had told him as much, but they were his parents. It was their job to make him feel fine about leaving home properly for the first time. Boarding school was not on the same level as university. It had always felt very separate from home but Fabian was starting to realise this would be completely different.

Fabian's heart leapt as he heard the front door being opened. The door to his own room was currently shut, but it was so quiet, he could still hear everything. The hustle and bustle of boxes and suitcases being dragged into the main corridor of the flat was audible, but Fabian didn't want to open his door straight away. Looking too eager would not only give the wrong impression to this person he had to live with for the next year, but he would probably scare them. No, he would wait a moment, let them at least look at their new room, before introducing himself. He hoped they were nice.

His phone vibrating next to him was a welcome distraction. He was starting to feel a little odd just listening intently to someone else. A sad smile crept upon his face as he saw it was from Eddie. Ah Eddie. Fabian hadn't spoken to him in weeks now; after Eddie hadn't got the results he'd expected, he'd fallen off the radar. No replies to texts and his phone always went to voicemail. After a week Fabian had got the message; for now, Eddie Miller did not want to be contacted. He wasn't sure if it was due to his phone being confiscated or just a deep depression that he hadn't gotten into the university he'd wanted to, but it was his business, and Fabian knew he'd get in touch when he was ready. It didn't help that Eddie had broken up with Patricia Williamson again over summer. Apparently those two were just not meant for the holidays.

_Man it is going to be odd not sharing a bedroom with you this year. In the least weird way possible. x_

Fabian laughed a little. He could just hear Eddie's voice reading the last bit out and he had to admit, it would be weird.

_I know_, Fabian replied. _I'll definitely miss your messy bed, your bathroom hogging and your constant sneaking in and out. Just kidding! I'll miss you really. x_

He smiled as he hit the send button, glad Eddie had decided to join the world again. His phone vibrated with a reply immediately, but someone knocked on his door at the same time. For a moment Fabian wondered how they knew someone was in this room, then remembered the giant poster he'd stuck on his door. Yeah, that was probably a giveaway.

Deciding Eddie could wait for a moment while he met his first new flatmate, Fabian leapt off his bed and raced to answer the door. Pulling it open, his eyes widened as he saw who was on the other side.

"Now you can't miss me too much!" Eddie yelled, before pulling Fabian into a bear hug. Slightly stunned, it took Fabian a moment to respond.

"Eddie! What... what are you doing here?" he asked, puzzled but happy. Mostly puzzled.

"I am your new flatmate," he grinned, stepping back and surveying Fabian, who had gained enough about him to think to prop his door open so they could stand in his doorway.

"What... how?" Fabian asked, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.

"A very good question, Fabian," said another familiar voice, a little out of breath after dragging all of Eddie's suitcases through the door alone. It appeared Eddie had abandoned his belongings at the front door in order to surprise Fabian.

"Mr Sweet!" said Fabian, surprised to see his old headmaster at his new university. Of course it made perfect sense for a father to drop his son off at his new home, but Fabian would always think of Mr Sweet first and foremost as the school headmaster, not Eddie's dad.

"Oh, Eric, please," he laughed, waving his hand as he finally got Eddie's suitcases to his room, opposite Fabian's.

"Okay, Eric," Fabian nodded nervously. Eddie rolled his eyes and shot Fabian an apology look before turning back to his father.

"You can leave it all out here, Dad," Eddie said. "I don't mind unpacking my stuff. Fabian will help."

Mr Sweet looked at Fabian who shrugged and nodded. He was pretty used to going along with whatever Eddie wanted, and it wasn't as if he had anything better to be doing right now.

"Very well then," Mr Sweet nodded cheerfully. "Undoubtedly I would put everything away in the wrong place anyway."

Fabian laughed nervously at what he hoped was intended to be a joke then excused himself to the kitchen. He sensed a goodbye was about to take place, and didn't want to be an awkward witness to it.

"Did you want me to stay at all Edison?" asked Eric, trying to strike the right balance between laidback and protective. "Wait until some of the others arrive?"

"No no, it's cool, Dad," Eddie replied, the name slip no longer a priority. "I've got Fabian, and you'd just be hanging around. If you get back on the road now, you'll make it home before it gets dark."

"Okay then," he nodded, smiling at his son and trying not to show how worried he was.

Despite the fact Eddie hadn't spent much of his life with his father, Eric cared for him as if he'd known him his entire life. This summer, Eddie had only spent half the time with his mother in America; the other half he'd spent with his father, properly bonding with one another rather than just sharing dinner once a week in Eric's office. It had been nice, and now that it had come to it, Eric felt a slight pang at the thought of his son no longer living with him.

"I'll come home again before Christmas," Eddie reassured his father. "I'll be up a few weekends. Don't worry."

"Glad to hear it," Eric said, pulling his son into a hug which was readily returned. "And don't forget to call sometimes. Just so I know how you're getting on."

"Will do," Eddie nodded as they broke apart. "Thanks for helping me move in, Dad. And, everything."

Eric clapped a hand on his son's shoulder and smiled at him.

"I'm very proud of you, Eddie," he said. "And I know you'll be fine here."

With that, he gave him one last nod then turned to leave the flat, while Eddie stood and watched him go, convincing himself he did not feel as shaky as he actually did.

"So..." Fabian said, sidling out of the kitchen after a decent amount of time had passed. "You have quite some explaining to do."

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**A/N: Hello again! Hopefully you read this far and didn't get bored. I appreciate not an awful lot happened this chapter, but it was getting rather long, and I'd prefer to write shorter chapters that I can update more frequently. More will happen next chapter, and eventually, we'll get into the thick of it. Please stick with it for now.  
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**Right, a few things. Firstly, this is my first HOA fic but definitely not my first fic. HOA gives me a chance to indulge my fourteen year old side, so I'm rolling with it. I haven't read a lot of Anubis stories on this site, but a lot of them revolve very much around relationships. I felt like trying something a little different, no disrespect to these stories, which are usually wonderful. This story will have a lot of friendship/relationship drama rest assured, but I also want it to have a storyline! Anubis to me is all about the missions, and this story will have one. A cracking website which you can find on my profile gave me the idea for this story; it's based on an Egyptian myth, but obviously updated and altered a little. Feel free to read the myth - it won't ruin the story at all. In terms of the rest of the story, there will be plenty of old characters and plenty of new characters, but I don't want to reveal the pairings because I feel it might ruin some of the storylines. **

**And that's about it for now. I've definitely rambled on a little too much. I'll include more information as and when it's needed; any questions/confusion, leave them in a review! I'd love to hear your thoughts, positive or constructively negative, considering this is my first Anubis fic, and as an extra incentive, each review will get a little sneak preview of next chapter. (It's juicy!) Thanks for reading :)**


	2. House of Arrivals

2. House of Arrivals

"So let me get this straight," Fabian said slowly, his brow crinkling as he struggled to wrap his head around what Eddie had just told him.

He'd talked awfully quickly, and half the time he'd had his back to Fabian anyway, busy putting his belongings away in his new room. Fabian, in direct contrast to what he'd assured Mr Sweet, was simply sat on Eddie's new bed, attempting to get in the way as little as possible. His best friend was a little... tense.

"What is there to get straight?" Eddie asked, his eyes widening as he turned to Fabian. "It's very simple."

"Things that take a half hour to explain are not simple," muttered Fabian.

"I always intended to come to this university, but next year; this year, I was supposed to be at its partner university in the States, but that all fell through. They offered me a place here if I sat an entrance exam, I did, I passed, they gave me a spot, and because it was only a few weeks ago, I figured I'd wait before telling you because then it would be a surprise. I saw your name on the flat lists while they were assigning me because it was so last minute, and because this was empty, they said that would be fine. And I dropped off the face off the earth because my dad confiscated my phone while we went fishing then forgot where he'd hidden it."

"See, that's, that's not simple," Fabian shrugged. "But I do now understand."

"Well, that is a miracle," sighed Eddie, going back to folding his clothes up.

"So you asked to live with me?" Fabian asked with a grin, poking Eddie in the side.

"Cut that out," Eddie growled. "Jeez, I regret that decision already."

"And you always claimed I was a nightmare to live with," teased Fabian, leaving Eddie's room to go grab a drink from his new kitchen.

"There was no claiming. You are. And you're still living up to that," Eddie yelled after him, shaking his head and trying to stop his own grin from forming.

Fabian sat down at his new kitchen table and studied his new home properly. Eddie was in the room next to the kitchen, so he knocked on the wall a few times for good measure, earning a 'cut it out!' from Eddie, and Fabian was opposite him. There were two rooms either side of Fabian, a room next to Eddie and a room right by the front door. That meant four more people, and that was intriguing.

The kitchen was the first door on the left after entering the flat. Reasonably spacious, Fabian determined that he could have done a lot worse. At least the whole place seemed clean, and his own cupboards and fridge shelf were already well stocked, with his mum insisting on buying nearly the whole of the local supermarket before they'd helped him move in.

Yes, all in all, Fabian was feeling quite content, though a little homesick. Many years of boarding school had done much to squash that feeling at least; he imagined many were going through a lot worse right now. And having his best friend live opposite was a definite bonus. Over the next few days, Fabian wanted to explore his new building too. There were at least ten more flats here in block twenty three, which meant so many new faces. So far, so good.

"Why are you sat there smiling to yourself?" Eddie asked, plonking himself down on one of the kitchen chairs opposite Fabian.

His own fridge was most certainly not as well packed as Fabian's; right now it was empty save one microwaveable pizza. Eddie had decided a shopping trip with his father would be disastrous, so instead had taken the cash offered to him and assured his dad he'd buy everything he needed. As an eighteen year old university student, he was fairly certain of what his fridge would be full of. He wished he had something to drink now though, instead of just tap water. Unpacking was hard work, and he was only halfway through - he had yet to put away the box marked 'kitchen'.

"Just contemplating life," Fabian said, earning himself an eye roll from Eddie. Guy acted like he was at least forty sometimes.

"I hear new people!" Eddie hissed, looking at Fabian with a crazed look in his eyes that Fabian assumed was meant to translate as excitement.

"You're going to scare them right off looking like that. Hide behind the fridge. They should meet me first."

Eddie folded his arms across his chest and shot Fabian a look then went back to listening for the arrival of some future flatmates. It sounded like there was quite the group of people outside; the soft giggle of a girl and more manly laughter was the most evident, amongst a general background of chatter. Eventually the new people made it into the flat and noticing Fabian and Eddie already sat in the kitchen as they walked past the propped open door, paused to introduce themselves.

"Hi, I'm Andy," said the male confidently, shaking hands with Fabian and a slightly bemused Eddie as they stood up to greet people.

"And I'm Emily. I followed Andy up the stairs," the girl laughed shyly. "Poor timing on our behalves."

"Nice to meet you," Eddie smiled at her. "I'm Eddie."

"Yeah, really nice," Fabian agreed, as the families of both students piled into the flat behind them. Mums, dads and siblings waved in acknowledgement of the two lads. It certainly explained all the noise. "Fabian."

"Well, I'm going to unpack," smiled Emily, shooting Fabian another lingering look before leaving the kitchen which he returned with an awkward thumbs up. "Nice to meet you, Fabian. And you, Eddie."

"As am I. See you guys later," nodded Andy and strode out pompously.

Eddie turned back to Fabian with wide eyes. Neither of them had been expecting who they'd been faced with. Judging by the directions each took, Emily had one of the rooms either side of Fabian's and Andy was occupying the other room on Eddie's side of the corridor.

"Well?" Eddie demanded as soon as everyone was out of earshot. "What did you think?"

"They both seem... nice."

"Are you being serious? That Andy guy was so far up himself I'm surprised he didn't get stuck, and Emily is very evidently into you already."

"He's not that bad," Fabian deflected, shooting a disapproving look at Eddie.

Perhaps his accent had been rather... educated, and with his tall, muscular frame and floppy brown hair, he did seem to fit the stereotype Eddie had already awarded him. He was good looking enough, Fabian supposed, in a sense that nothing stood out about him and his features were all normal. Eddie would probably beat him in a competition though; not that Fabian would ever share that with his friend. It'd probably terrify him. He wasn't special enough to warrant the arrogance he introduced himself with, that was for sure, but Fabian wondered if he was just over compensating to hide how nervous he was. He would give him a second chance before judging, and he would make Eddie do so as well.

Emily seemed the exact opposite. Small and slender, her long blonde hair hung loose and wavy around her fair face. It almost reminded him of another blonde he'd once fallen for, but the hair colour wasn't quite right. The dusting of freckles across her nose was cute, and her bright blue eyes were quite striking, but nothing else was particularly remarkable. Eddie obviously saw something in her, but Fabian didn't. She was pretty, and friendly, but nothing about her attracted him, although she'd obviously seen something in him.

"Well? Are you going to follow up on Emily?" asked Eddie.

"No," Fabian told him, shaking his head. "She seems nice, but not for me."

"Dude, are you kidding? She's the spit of..." Eddie trailed off awkwardly, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Sorry. That came out wrong. She just, just looks similar to people you've liked in the past."

Fabian gave him a sarcastic thumbs up but couldn't say anything else as various people filtered into the kitchen, obviously having been banished from bedrooms as everyone unpacked. It seemed to be the way things were done.

"Does anyone want a cup of tea?" Fabian offered around, much to the delight of everyone, especially the two mums.

"Oh that'd be lovely thank you..."

"Fabian," he supplied helpfully, snapping the kettle on and setting mugs out. "Do you take sugar?"

As Fabian started winning hearts, Eddie excused himself to continue his unpacking, miming being sick at Fabian just before he exited. Trust Fabian to be the most popular among the mums and dads, and the new flatmates.

Around a half hour later, Andy wandered back into the kitchen, where Eddie was finally putting away his plates and glasses, and Fabian was flicking through his phone. His family had left a few minutes ago, and Emily's had piled back into her room presumably to say their own goodbyes.

"Oh hello," Fabian grinned at Andy as he walked in. "All settled in?"

"Pretty much," Andy nodded. "Rooms aren't half small are they?"

"I thought they were alright," Eddie said, straightening up from his cupboard and walking over to the table. Fabian was sure he'd done it just to measure himself against Andy, and the slight twitch of his mouth upward when he discovered he was a decent bit taller confirmed this.

"Maybe it's just me then," Andy laughed awkwardly, obviously feeling a little threatened.

"Eddie, why don't you sit down too?" Fabian said pointedly as Andy grabbed a can of pop from the fridge and joined them.

As Andy turned to the fridge, Fabian shot Eddie a look that quite clearly told him to behave himself. Eddie shrugged; he didn't like the guy and that was that. Another glare and he sighed. If it would appease Fabian for a little while, he would give him a chance. But he didn't like it.

"So," Fabian said, breaking up the increasingly awkward silence between the three guys.

"Do you guys have girlfriends?" Andy blurted out, clearly saying the first thing that had popped into his head. "I for one, am single and ready to mingle here at university."

"That's nice," Fabian smiled, raising an eyebrow. "I don't have a girlfriend."

"Neither do I," said Eddie miserably. His heartache was a lot more recent and bitter.

"The three single musketeers for now then," Andy announced, trying to improve the mood.

"You still haven't told me what happened with you and Patricia," Fabian reminded Eddie, ignoring Andy's comment. He was becoming more unbearable by the minute. Maybe he could see where Eddie was coming from.

Eddie looked at Fabian shiftily.

"You were the one that broke up with her?" he spluttered, reading his facial expression. "Why are you so forlorn then?"

"I, I didn't mean to," Eddie said defensively. "Well, I did. But not forever! We'd been arguing for weeks so I suggested a break while I went to America and then I meant to say we'd try it again when I got back. You know what Patricia's like though. She flipped and wouldn't hear me out. Assumed I wanted to go to America single so I could have fun with my old girlfriends. I tried calling her when I got back but she never picked up. So eventually I stopped trying."

"Wait a minute," Andy interjected. "Do you two know each other?"

"We went to school together," said Eddie, waving him away as he wallowed in self-pity.

"We were roommates," said Fabian, trying to be a little more sociable. "And now we're flatmates!"

"Did you plan that?"

"No," said Fabian.

"Yes," said Eddie at the same time.

Fabian half grimaced at Andy, earning himself a shove from Eddie.

"Give over, you're beyond happy I'm here," Eddie laughed, trying to forget his current Patricia woes.

"Well, that's interesting," Andy mumbled as Emily walked into the room. "Hey, Emily, did you know Fabian and Eddie already know each other?"

"Really?" she asked brightly if a little distracted, checking something in her cupboard. "That's sweet."

As she trotted back off into her room, the boys descended into silence again, relieved when Emily's family piled out of her room and left so she could join them. Between the four of them, they managed to make stilted conversation for the next hour or so, but it was evident Emily felt a little outnumbered, and when the key turned again and a loud female voice was distinct, she audibly let out a sigh of relief.

The same process ensued. A ridiculously tall redhead introduced herself as Jessica then retreated to her own room, emerging a while later and joining them in the kitchen once her family had left. As soon as she joined the table, the whole atmosphere changed. Easygoing, very funny without realising and constantly shrieking with laughter, she allowed the new flat to actually relax around one another and engage in actual conversation.

"So what are you guys studying?" ventured Emily. "I'm reading Archaeology."

"Ancient History," Fabian said eagerly, while Eddie muttered something under his breath, no doubt insulting.

"Maths," said Jessica, which was surprising to all of them. No one as lively as Jessica could surely be doing such a scientific subject? Not to mention she was a complete whirlwind; she'd already walked into a cupboard door and dropped a carton of orange juice, ruining the clean floor.

"History," said Eddie simply.

"I'm doing History too," grinned Andy. "We can walk to lectures together."

"Great," said Eddie, not even bothering to hold back on the sarcasm. Jessica laughed again, and Eddie decided he liked her a lot. Emily was still quiet, so he hadn't quite made up his mind. Andy was a definite no go.

Fabian was still trying to keep an open mind on everyone. It was getting harder - Andy got more annoying by the second and Emily constantly staring at him was starting to get a little disconcerting.

"I can't believe how late it's getting," said Fabian, surprised to check his watch and find out it was four o'clock already. He'd arrived at ten; six hours had passed quickly. "I wonder if there are many people still moving in?"

"Oh there's loads still down there," Jessica told him. "People keep getting all confused and holding up the queues to get room keys and the like. Good old student accommodation. When I was down there for example, some poor American girl was getting in a right pickle with her paperwork, and she was all alone. And some other guy was desperately trying to explain himself but I think he was French exchange and he clearly didn't know a lot of English."

"That must suck," said Eddie, frowning and earning a nod of agreement from Jessica.

A few hours later and the five new flatmates were still sat round their new kitchen table, happily chattering away and learning about each other. For now it was only small talk, but everyone seemed content, certain that the flat would at least be bearable for the next year. Andy, Emily and Jessica seemed somewhat wary of the fact that Eddie and Fabian already knew each other and quite clearly had a strong bond, but the boys were doing their best to reassure their new friends that this didn't mean there needed to be a divide. They wanted to meet new people; it was just a bonus having each other.

A few people had started to cook dinner, which helped ease the room even more. Fabian had pasta going on the hob and Eddie had stuck his pizza in the microwave; Fabian prayed it was just a first night meal and that ready meals weren't going to become the norm.

Eventually the conversation turned to the mysterious sixth flatmate and who they would be. Boy or girl? Friend or foe? Everyone was filled with a burning curiosity, only heightened when the front door was opened. Each of them turned to face the kitchen door, waiting for the surprise person to walk past the kitchen and hopefully stop to say hello.

There was a scuffling at the first door in the corridor, then a girl wandered into the kitchen, somewhat taken aback at everyone staring at her, then even more intimidated by their reactions, although attempting not to show it.

The jaws of Emily, Andy and Jessica dropped in unison at the sight of the new girl, while Eddie paled and went speechless. Fabian glanced at his partner in crime then looked back at the girl, stunned himself.

"Hello boys," she said confidently, addressing her former housemates. "Long time, no see."

"Patricia?" Eddie finally managed to say.

"You know her too?" Jessica asked, stunned. "Is your whole school here?"

"I'm his ex-girlfriend," Patricia said bluntly. Andy nodded, understanding instantly and Fabian rolled his eyes. Here they went. "Patricia, in case you didn't understand the garbled mess that just came out of Eddie's mouth."

The others introduced themselves before being interrupted by a very confused Eddie.

"What are you doing here?"

"I live here, Eddie," she snapped in response. His stomach dropped as she referred to him by his real name.

"No, well yeah," he said. "But I didn't know you'd even applied to this university, let alone that you were coming here."

Eddie turned to Fabian, expecting a similar response, but Fabian quickly turned to his pasta, suddenly very concerned with not letting it boil over.

"Fabian?"

Andy, Emily and Jessica sat quietly at the table, watching the conversation with some interest.

"I... knew she was coming," he said sheepishly. "But I had no idea she would be living with us. And I didn't see the point in telling you earlier because you were all miserable and I figured campus might be big enough that you might never see her anyway."

"Well, unlucky for you," smirked Patricia as Eddie's mouth opened and closed silently. "I'll see you lot in a bit. My suitcases won't unpack themselves."

Stalking back down to her room, the whole room stayed silent for a moment.

"She is... something," Andy whistled finally.

"What the hell has happened to Patricia?" asked Fabian. "Did that happen when she was with you?"

"No way."

Patricia had changed. A lot. Gone was the heavy eyeliner, the pinned up fringe and jeans and tshirt combination. Instead, she was wearing some dark blue jeans, a simple blouse and her hair was tied up in a straight ponytail. Her face was virtually free of all make up, and her jewellery was delicate rather than chunky. Somehow, she looked older, but most of all, she looked happier. Eddie quite liked her new look; she looked good in her pyjamas, for goodness' sake, but the carefree look in her eyes definitely suited her.

"Has something changed?" asked Emily, confused.

"A lot of things," Fabian answered, blinking.

"Well I personally think she looks and sounds like a cracking girl," laughed Andy. "You missed a trick on that one, Eddie."

Eddie glared at him then turned to Fabian. This year was going to be crazy.

\/\O~O/\/

"I am so sorry," laughed a young girl, rummaging through her enormous bag for the paperwork she knew was definitely in there. Her short blonde hair was covering her eyes, making the situation ten times worse, and the queue behind her was the cause of her bright pink cheeks.

"It's fine," said the man at the desk, trying to reassure her. He'd been sorting out student accommodation move-in day for too many years now to worry about a minor paperwork mishap.

"Got it!" she announced triumphantly, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper and handing it to the poor man.

"Brilliant. Okay then...," he said, running his fingers down a long list of names. "Nina Martin, Nina Martin. Ah yes, block eleven, flat three. Here are your keys, Miss Martin. You'll find the block easily enough, just take a left out of that door over there and follow your nose."

"Thank you," Nina smiled, accepting the keys she was provided with and setting out to find her new home. It felt so good to be back in England.

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**A/N: Wow this chapter is long. I'm so sorry. They won't usually be like this. I just couldn't find a good place to stop, and something interesting had to happen! Thank you so much for the lovely reviews for the first chapter - they were very encouraging, and inspired me to write again today! I won't usually update with such frequency though - check out my profile for the days allocated to each story. Hope this chapter was as good as the last one; please leave your thoughts! They make me happy. And you get a preview of the next chapter for being so wonderful. Thanks for reading :)**


	3. House of Confusion

3. House of Confusion

"Wow. That's awkward."

"You don't say."

Patricia had locked herself in her new room and was currently freaking out on the phone to the one and only Joy Mercer, her best friend and the mastermind behind her summer transformation.

"So... what should I do?" asked Patricia after Joy stayed silent, digesting the information.

Joy had to admit, she was glad she was just on the phone right now. Patricia would not have been happy if they'd been having a webcam conversation. Mostly because, this whole situation was just hilariously funny. She was trying so, so hard not to giggle right now, but in a minute, she wasn't going to be able to stop herself.

Patricia had spent all summer trying to get over Eddie. Joy had had to suffer every second of it, because that was what best friends were for. Joy had been the one to suggest that Patricia completely re-alter her image. When she'd done it at school last year, it had been the best feeling. She'd gained confidence, popularity, and best of all, Jerome. Glancing at her laptop's desktop background, she grinned at the photo of the two of them. Edited with love hearts and flowers, and a cute little banner that said Mrs Joy Clark, she would die before she let him see it. But she liked it, and that was all that mattered.

There was no denying that Patricia's makeover had helped. Joy was extremely proud. She seemed happier, and more focused on university, and was just generally nicer to be around. She'd almost moved on entirely from Eddie. But now she was sharing a flat with him.

"Joy, why the hell are you laughing?" snapped Patricia.

"I'm sorry," she said, wiping a tear from her eye. "It's just, you have to see the funny side of this. You've spent months ranting about Eddie, telling me how much you hate him, how you never want to see him ever again... and now you're going to see him every day."

"There is no funny side to this."

"There is a teeny, tiny one."

"Nothing is funny about this! I'm going to be around him nearly twenty-four seven. It's going to be just like being back at school. I should have done what you did and stayed at home for a year."

"I'm hardly staying at home for a year," said Joy indignantly. "I fly to Australia in two weeks, remember?"

"Well, the point is, you're not at university in the same year, the same flat, as your ex-boyfriend."

"No okay, that is true," conceded Joy. Patricia did not sound happy, so she was going to have to try and suck up the laughter and be a good friend. "Tell me though, what was his face like when he saw you?"

"Ugh," groaned Patricia. "He was all speechless and pretending like he was shocked."

"There was no way he was pretending," said Joy, feeling smug. "He's kicking himself for ending things with you."

"No way," laughed Patricia. "He ended things with a completely different person. Now, I look like... I look like Piper!"

"Patricia, you look nothing like Piper."

Patricia glared at her phone, and although Joy couldn't see her, the silence gave her a fairly good indication of her facial expression right about now.

"Okay, so you look a bit like Piper. You know, because of the whole, identical twin thing," she muttered. "But, you don't look like her with your clothes, or your lovely new hair, or anything else. You look amazing."

"I feel silly."

"You were fine with it all summer!"

"Yeah, until I got to uni and had to face Eddie and Fabian!"

"Fabian's there too?" asked Joy, and burst out laughing again. This was almost too good to be true.

"I'm going to hang up on you in a minute," huffed Patricia. "I rang you for some sort of support. I'm having a crisis here."

"Patricia, it's hardly a crisis," reasoned Joy. "But you're right, I'm sorry. Look, it's all going to be okay. And to be honest, it's going to have to be, because you don't have a choice."

"Jeez, talk about tough love."

"Truth hurts," said Joy. "So you're just going to have to deal with it. Chances are, Eddie feels ten times as awkward as you do, so just remember that. Besides, it's not like you still like him. You're only mad at him. And that'll die down eventually, and then it'll be fine, right?"

"Right," said Patricia after a pause.

"Oh no," Joy groaned.

"I can't help it," Patricia sighed. "I didn't think I was going to see him ever again, I thought I had moved on. I was just angry at him when I said I hated him. But him actually being there, right in front of me..."

"You need to move on," Joy said firmly. "Otherwise this really will be a nightmare for you. Unless you think he still likes you?"

"No way," stated Patricia. "He made that pretty clear at the start of summer."

"Well there you go, that'll make things easier. Just, find someone new on your course, forget all about Eddie, and have some fun. That's the whole point of uni."

"The whole point of uni is to get a degree," Patricia deadpanned.

"Okay, but it's the second most important thing about uni. I can't wait until I go next year."

"You're too happy."

"Well, one of us has to be."

Finally Patricia laughed, and Joy breathed a sigh of relief. She was going to be just fine. It'd just take some getting used to. She mentally prepared herself for many phone calls in the coming weeks. Thank god she was flying halfway across the world soon. It wasn't that she didn't love her best friend, not at all. But, this summer had been stressful enough. And it wasn't like Patricia had always been there for her in the past.

"Well, I guess I'd better go. I have to unpack and make my bed still, and it's already nine."

"Okay then. Have fun. And honestly, it'll all be okay."

"Whatever. Thanks for listening to me freak out."

"I'm so used to it. Bye!" Joy added brightly on the end.

"Bye," Patricia laughed, before hanging up the phone.

Sighing to herself, she dropped her phone next to her on her bare mattress and looked around her. The room was empty, save for cardboard boxes stacked on and around the desk that stretched right round a corner of her room. She didn't even want to think about unpacking that lot right now. And she wished she'd taken her mum up on her offer to make her bed. But no, she was independent now, and she could make her own bed.

"I can't be bothered," Patricia grumbled to herself, as she got up and started sifting through the boxes for the big one marked 'ESSENTIALS' - it contained her duvet, her sheets, her pillows, and her toothbrush. And she had a funny feeling it was right at the back. It was going to be a long night.

\/\O~O/\/

"This is so weird," laughed Fabian.

"Yes, Fabian, you've said that. Many times," snapped Eddie.

He was pacing his bedroom floor, while Fabian sat cross-legged on his bed again. He suspected this would become a familiar spot for him. Shortly after Patricia had left the kitchen again, Eddie had stormed into his own room, making it very clear that Fabian was meant to follow him. With a quick apology to the rest of his bemused flat, Fabian had hurried after his friend. Andy hadn't been far behind in leaving the kitchen, and now only Emily and Jess remained in the kitchen, presumably getting to know one another.

"How could you not tell me she was coming here?" spluttered Eddie.

"I told you, I didn't think you guys would ever meet! It's a huge campus, the likelihood of you two even being in the same halls, let alone the same flat was slim. It's just an unfortunate coincidence that you two are living together and studying together," said Fabian apologetically.

"We're studying together?" exploded Eddie. "She's doing History?"

Fabian sensed that this has not been the right thing to say. At all. Eddie's eyes were... manic.

"Okay, clearly you didn't know that," Fabian said quietly, glancing away from his friend's furious face and scratching his head. That probably hadn't been the best move.

"No, Fabian, I did not know that. Damn, I was so pumped this morning. Moving in with my bro, this pretty decent flat, the fact I actually got in here in the first place. And now... now I find out I'm living with my ex-girlfriend, who hates my guts, and looks like a freaking supermodel!"

"I wouldn't go that far," said Fabian.

Eddie glared at him, and held his hands up in apology.

"I guess I've known her since we were pretty young," Fabian backtracked. "I guess she's quite pretty now."

"She's always been pretty," Eddie fumed. "And now, she just looks even better. Guys are going to be all over her."

"Okay, I think you're over reacting a tiny bit," said Fabian, standing up. "You're stressing out, because this is going to be awkward, and you're jealous, because she's moved on and you never meant to break up with her in the first place. And you're annoyed because let's face it, she clearly still doesn't like you, and you... well, you do still like her. I'm thinking, maybe you just need to sleep on it."

"Thank you for such helpful advice," said Eddie stonily.

"Okay, I'm just going to... going to go to bed," said Fabian, excusing himself and escaping from Eddie's room. He couldn't take this much longer. Eddie's seemingly cool attitude to Patricia's arrival was evidently anything but, and he obviously needed some time to process.

Hurrying into his own room, so he couldn't get collared by the others, he locked his door and decided to get ready for bed. He was shattered - his parents had insisted on a ridiculously early get-up - and ready for bed. Undressing, Fabian revelled in his new freedom as he threw his clothes onto the floor and turned his back on them. Then, after a few seconds, he turned back round, picked them up, and neatly placed them into his new wash basket.

Shaking his head in disgust at himself, he got into bed and found he had a text from Joy. Smiling, he opened it. He was pleased that he and Joy had made up over the summer. They'd been so close before creepy Egyptian stuff started happening at Anubis House, and he'd forgotten how much he missed her until she approached him at the start of summer. They sat down and had a proper heart to heart to sort everything out. It helped that she was with Jerome now. Fabian wasn't a huge fan, but it meant Joy had finally moved on from him, which could only be a good thing.

_I hear Anubis House hasn't split up entirely. Look after Patricia, PLEASE. She's going crazy. :| xxx_

Fabian laughed. While Eddie had been stressing to him, clearly Patricia had been stressing to Joy. They were such a pair. Clearly meant for one another, Fabian knew that eventually, they'd get together this year. If they didn't, the world would be out of balance. No way was he interfering though. No. Way.

_Eddie isn't much better. He's pacing, and yelling. And his eyes are wild. x_

_Eddie's always yelling. Just make sure they don't do something stupid. xxx_

_Like what? x_

_I don't know! Just keep an eye on them. So how's uni? Aside from this xxx_

_So far, it's pretty good :) the flat's nice, and there's a really nice girl called Jessica as well as us. x_

_So it's a flat of four? Bet that's awkward for her... xxx_

_There are two others. But the guy's annoying and the girl's weird. So... x_

_How is she weird? Fill me in! xxx_

They continued to text in this way for a good hour. Fabian told her all about the odd vibe he was beginning to get off Emily, and what an idiot Andy seemed to be. He knew that first impressions could be misleading though, so his mind was still open. A little bit. In return, Joy told him about the last minute preparations she was making for the beginning of her gap year - a three month trip to Australia. He had to admit, he was wildly jealous. But then, he'd been so desperate to come to university that he would never have taken a gap year.

Eventually, they said goodnight and Fabian tried to get to sleep in his new bed. He knew Eddie would still be pacing. He imagined Patricia would still be stressing, based on what Joy had said. And he laughed to himself. What a crazy situation they'd gotten themselves into.

Little did he know that it was going to get a whole lot worse.

\/\O~O/\/

Eddie stumbled next door into the kitchen still half asleep. It was eight in the morning, and with nothing to do today, far too early to be awake. He was fairly certain the rest of the block, let alone the rest of the flat, was asleep, and quite rightly so. If he hadn't had such a rotten night's sleep, he would be too. The combination of a new bed and thoughts of Patricia had meant sleep evaded him for most of the night though. Eventually deciding he should do something other than just lie in bed staring at the ceiling, he'd made up his mind to grab some cereal.

With his eyes still half-closed, it took him a moment to realise there was actually someone else in the kitchen; an equally sleepy-looking Patricia.

"Oh, hey," he said lamely, feeling the need to acknowledge her as he opened Fabian's cupboard to hunt out his cereal then opened the fridge to crack open Fabian's milk. He already missed Trudy's pancakes.

"Hey," she nodded, staring resolutely at her own bowl of cereal.

"Sleep well?" he asked, immediately kicking himself. Quite evidently she hadn't.

"Bit of a stupid question," she said, finally glancing at him to shoot him a look that made him feel like such an idiot.

"Right. Where did you go last night?"

"Just hung out in my room. Phoned Joy. I was pretty tired."

Eddie blinked at how civil she was being, but he could sense her guard was right up. Deciding not to push it, and not being able to stand much more of the tension, Eddie picked up the bowl and retreated back into his room.

"Cool. See you around," he said as he left the kitchen.

Patricia stirred her cereal around, not even acknowledging his goodbye, but as soon as she was sure he'd left, pushed her bowl away and sighed. She was far too tired for this. Joy had been wrong; this would not all be okay.

How could she possibly continue to live with her former boyfriend, who seemingly still hated her?

* * *

**A/N: Hey, woah, what's th- oh no wait, it's just some tumbleweed. Never mind... Okay so I'm really sorry this has taken a while. Or like, a million years. You know how it is though. But now I'm back! So all good. And back to the story. Right, it's full of teenage melodrama, and I am aware of that, but let's be realistic here. That's what teenagers are like. Every little thing is like, the end of the world. So, that's why Patricia and Eddie are going crazy. Not because I just got carried away. And bless 'em, they're just so confused. Wait until next chapter - they won't be the only ones! Reviewers get a sneak peek of Chapter Four, and come on now. Based on how long this one took, you're gonna want that sneak peek... Kidding! (Kinda.) Please, if you want the sneak peek, don't forget to login! Otherwise I have no idea who you are! Thanks for reading! :)**


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